Shloka 72
अध्याय ७४: अक्रोध–क्षमा–निवासनीति
Chapter 74: Non-anger, Forbearance, and the Ethics of Residence
काम त्वया परित्यक्ता गमिष्यामि स्वमाश्रमम् । इमं तु बाल संत्यक्तुं नार्हस्थात्मजमात्मन:,“महाराज! आपके द्वारा स्वेच्छासे त्याग दी जानेपर मैं पुनः: अपने आश्रमको लौट जाऊँगी, किंतु अपने इस नन््हे-से पुत्रका त्याग आपको नहीं करना चाहिये”
kāma tvayā parityaktā gamiṣyāmi svam āśramam | imaṃ tu bālaṃ saṃtyaktuṃ nārhasi ātmajam ātmanaḥ ||
“If you choose to abandon me, I will return to my own hermitage. But you must not cast off this little child—your own son, born of yourself.”
दुष्यन्त उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid marital rejection, the ethical duty toward one’s child remains binding; abandoning one’s own offspring is presented as improper and contrary to dharma.
In the Duṣyanta–Śakuntalā episode, the speaker declares she can return to the hermitage if rejected, but insists the king must not renounce the small child, who is his own son.